


Always...Forever

by angylinni



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-01
Updated: 2011-08-01
Packaged: 2017-10-22 01:56:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/232446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angylinni/pseuds/angylinni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is over and love conquers all.  Written for the Hand Me My Robes challenge way back in the day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always...Forever

The sharp pop of someone Apparating startled Katie awake. She sat upright in the large bed, her hand creeping towards her wand as heavy footsteps sounded down the hallway, coming towards the bedroom.

Katie clutched her wand tightly, the hex already half spoken by the time the door creaked open.

“Protego!”

“Incendium!”

The spell bounced off the shield Marcus threw up as he stepped inside the room, searing a mark on the wall next to the bed.  He reached for the light switch, squinting as light flooded the room. “I just fixed the wall from the last time you did that,” he said reproachfully.

“Then let me know it’s you before you just open the bedroom door,” she returned irritably, flopping back down on the bed and rolling to her side.  “Turn off the light, it’s gone four,” she said, jerking the covers over her head.

He flipped it off and began to strip; dropping his clothing in the basket he knew was kept beside the door.  Katie liked routine, and everything had a specific place.  Rationally, he knew it was her way of dealing with things, and everything she’d been through, but it did get annoying every once in awhile, especially when she yelled at him for not putting something back exactly the right way.

Sighing, he walked to the bed and pulled up the covers, sliding under them.  A soft groan escaped as he settled his body into the soft mattress and Katie sat up again, flipping the light next to the bed on before turning to face him.  “Are you hurt?” she asked, running her hands over his torso.

“No,” he said, wincing as she brushed against a large bruise on his hip.

“Liar,” she accused, bending closer to peer at the darkening skin.  “I can see the bruise forming.  What happened?”

Marcus sighed again.  “You know I can’t tell you-”

She jerked upright, glaring at him.  “I’ve got clearance too, you know.”

“Katie,” Marcus said, holding up his hands.  “I don’t want to fight with you-”

“Too late,” she snapped, flopping back down onto the bed and dousing the light.  He could almost feel the tension crackling between them, her body rigid under the covers.

Reaching out, he curled his hand around her hip, only to have it slapped angrily away.  “Fucking me isn’t going to make this go away,” she snarled, rolling over and curling into a ball.

He took a deep, calming breath, forcing the anger back.  Turning on his side, he curved his body around hers, his arm banding tightly around her.  “I don’t want to fuck you, Katie; I want to make love to you.”  She stiffened and his head dropped to her shoulder.  “I only have a few hours before I have to leave again.”

She turned in his arms, tears leaking down her cheeks.  “No, you’ve been gone for nearly a week as it is.”

“Katie,” he said gruffly, his hand stroking her cheek.  “We’re in the middle of a war, Princess.”

“I know,” she said bitterly.  “That’s why I’m stuck here, waiting for you to come back from wherever it is that you’re being sent off to, or did you forget?”

He gave up trying to talk, bending his head instead and kissing her, warm lips covering her cold ones, his hand sliding down her leg, guiding it up around his waist.

She kissed him back fiercely, channeling her hurt and anger into the desire that surged through her at his kiss.  It never changed, no matter how angry she was at him, his touch still made her shiver with need.  
Her hands wove into his hair as his lips found her pulse, sucking the soft skin into his mouth as he rolled atop her.  Katie spread her legs wide, gasping as she felt him pressing against her entrance, hard and ready.

“I need you,” she whispered, scraping her nails down his back.

“I know,” he whispered back, his voice a gruff growl, pressing her deeply into the mattress as he filled her with one sure, heavy stroke.

“Oh god,” she sobbed, her nails digging into his broad, muscular back, her hips rising to meet him.

“You’re mine, Princess.”  His rough voice filled her ear, a thrill shooting through her at the possessive words.

“Always,” she breathed, her hands sliding down to cup his arse, pulling him tighter against her.  “Forever.”

Their lovemaking took on a frantic pace, each driving towards completion with a single-minded intensity.  They knew each other’s bodies so well that their movements were almost like a dance, perfectly in sync with the other.

Katie came with a strangled moan against his shoulder, Marcus following her over the edge seconds later.  He collapsed atop her and immediately rolled to his side, tucking her under his arm, his hand splayed possessively over her hip.

She curled into him, her hand sliding along his abdomen to rest lightly against his back as sleep claimed her once more.  Marcus lay wide awake, drinking in the sight of her nestled in his arms.

~*~  
   
The door creaked open, spilling the light from the hallway into the room. “It’s time,” Lavender said softly, coming into the room and leaving the door ajar behind her.  There was just enough light to make out the two figures on the bed, still tightly entwined.

“Hand me my robes, will you?” Marcus asked, sitting up carefully and tucking the blankets back around his wife.

Lavender grabbed the heavy robes and laid them across the end of the bed before turning around and walking over to the large closet, busying herself inside as he dressed.

When she turned around, he stood beside the bed, staring down at the sleeping form, an unreadable expression on his face.  Lavender set the box she held carefully down on the bedside table, pulling out the vials of potions and lining them up on the tray that rested there.  The light was too dim to be sure, but it almost looked like tears were coursing down his cheeks as he stared down at the sleeping blonde woman.

“Will she…” he asked softly, his voice trailing off.

“Healer Smythe is out in the hall, he can answer your questions much better than I can,” Lavender said quickly.

“Take care of her for me,” he said, bending down and brushing a gentle kiss to Katie’s forehead before striding out of the room, praying it wasn’t the last time he’d be able to make love to his wife.

~*~  
   
 _Damage quite severe…experimental treatment…holding out hope._

The words echoed in his head as he sat in the family room of the Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Longterm Care Facility.  Fucking Healers, they couldn’t tell him a damn thing other than Katie might eventually get better.  Screw that, he wasn’t going to live without her and they’d better damn well find a cure or he’d tear the place apart with his bare hands.

He stood, pacing the room restlessly, his eyes never leaving the clock ticking merrily on the wall.  _Five hours, it’d been five fucking hours!_ Cracking his knuckles, he strode towards the door, jerking open the handle roughly, nearly colliding with a tall, dark haired man.

“Easy mate,” Adrian said, catching hold of Marcus’s shoulder as he tried to shove past him.

“You take it easy, it isn’t Millie they’re working on, is it?” Marcus rasped angrily, shoving his friend hard to make him move.

“No, it’s not,” Adrian agreed quietly, not releasing him. “But you charging in there and breaking heads isn’t going to help Katie and you know it.”

Marcus turned, his expression tortured.  “I can’t just sit here and not know,” he said brokenly, his shoulders slumping.

Adrian sighed, pulling him into an awkward, one armed hug.  Marcus stiffened before slumping against him, harsh broken sobs wracking his body.  Adrian led him back into the room, pushing him down onto the well worn sofa before slumping down next to him.  Marcus took a deep breath and tried to fight back the emotion, but it was a losing battle.

Katie, _his Katie_ , was in that surgery room and he was sitting helplessly out here, unable to do anything.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this!  The hex had been meant for him, but Katie had moved at just the wrong moment, the spell hitting her directly in the chest.  He’d been unable to do anything, just catch her as she fell and sending an Avada Kedavra back at Malfoy in retaliation.

The door opened, a white robed Healer standing in the doorway.  Marcus leapt to his feet, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand.  “How is she?”

The older man gave him a tentative smile.  “She came through the procedure and now it’s just a matter of time to see if it worked.”

“Then she’ll be okay?” Marcus pressed, his brow knotted with tension.

“Erm…we don’t rightly know,” Healer Smythe said. “We’re hoping for the best of course, but you know the procedure is experimental-”

“Quit dancing around the truth and just spit it out,” Marcus snarled.  “Is she going to be the same as she was before the curse?”

The older man flushed and took an involuntary step backwards.  “I wish I could tell you yes,” he said slowly, holding up his hand as Marcus opened his mouth again.  “However, that wouldn’t be fair to you.  The truth is, we really don’t know if the procedure will help, or if she’ll be locked in permanent stasis.  As you know, the periods of lucidity were becoming shorter and shorter.  If we’d have done nothing, they would have dwindled down to nothing and she’d never have been herself again.”

“That’s not good enough,” Marcus snarled, shaking off Adrian’s hand and pacing the room again.

“That’s the best I can give,” Healer Smythe said, shaking his head sadly.  “I’m sorry.”

~*~  
   
Katie’s eyes opened slowly, the blackness receding as she blinked several times.  Turning her head slowly, she glanced around the room, trying to remember exactly where she was.

Marcus sat slumped in a chair, his hand resting on the bed beside hers.  He looked terrible, dark circles under his eyes and several days’ worth of stubble gracing his cheeks.

Lifting her hand, she brushed against his, sweat beading her forehead at the effort it took.  He came awake in an instant, sitting forward and scrubbing his face with his other hand.  His eyes widened and he scooted closer, his hand curling warmly around hers.  “Katie?”

She smiled and tried to speak, coughing softly.  He reached for the pitcher of water beside the bed and poured a cup, holding it to her lips.  The cool water slid down her throat, easing the dryness and she tried again.  “Where are we?”

“Hospital,” he said, running his hand gently over her hair.  “Do you…what do you remember?”

Katie frowned, her eyes darting around the room once more.  “Not much.  I remember snatches of things, but that’s it.”

“Do you remember…us?”

She frowned once more, squeezing his fingers lightly.  “Of course I remember us, why wouldn’t I?”

He released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and bent closer, laying his cheek against hers.  “Thank god,” he breathed.

“Marcus?”

He sat up, tears filling his eyes.  “You had an accident love.”

“Accident?”

“Actually, Malfoy tried to kill me, but you got in the way,” Marcus said, his expression turning somber again.  “We’re not sure what spell he used, but it was making you lose your mind.  Before they treated you, you were only lucid for about an hour a day.  I was losing you Princess…”

Katie lifted their joined hands to his cheek, brushing away the tears.  “You’ll never lose me, I won’t let you,” she said firmly. "I'm yours, always and forever."

“I like the sound of that.”


End file.
